Cape Coral,FL Relocation

[mstaglia]

It's a LONG WINTER in the White Mountains of NH. We are going to FL in Feb and March for vacation and to look at property in Cape Coral area. Anyone from the area want to share some thoughts on buying property there? I found several canal front homes with docks for under 150K.
How's the boating in the area? We are considering leaving our boat at our club in Medford,MA and spending summers up north and winters in the south.
Any thoughts at all?
Mike :huh:

 

[RollerCoastr]

I go boating in the Sanibel / Cape Coral / Ft Myers Beach area a few times a year. I really enjoy the boating there. Although I've never been to CC by car, I'm quickly becoming a regular at RumRunners.

On windy days, I've taken refuge in Cape Coral and have had a blast just going up and down each canal. Make sure you're aware when looking at property that "canal frontage" does NOT necessarily imply ocean access. Many of the homes are on landlocked lakes or are behind low bridges that limit your boating possibities.

Once in the ICW though, there's lots to do and many places to go. I've barey begun to scratch the surface.

 

[missnmountains]

Don't get too excited when you see canal lots and houses for 150k. The Cape is laced with fixed bridges. One Bridge drops the price by 100k. The other issue is that most of the south west cape is fed by one lock at Cape Harbour. You can have over an hour and a half idle out to that lock.

The lock wait can be three to four hours on a holiday evening. Add a long idle and you are looking at 4 hours or more to get home.

The moral of the story is no bridges, close to the river, and no locks means big bucks.

Now I am not trying to be negative, but when we purchased in 2003, we thought the same thing. Get a great deal for a couple hundred grand. But by the time you search to find no bridges, close to the river, and no lock, you end up spending quite a bit more.

In our case, we settled for close to the river, no bridges, but we still go through the Cape Harbour lock (chiquita lock). I avoid it on weekends and holidays like the plague during the winter.

The Cape is a great place to boat from. We frequent Sanibel, Captiva, North Captiva(our local favorite). We have been across the Lake O waterway, spend many many trips down at the keys (Key West our favorite), and up and down the east coast of Florida. All of these locations are accessible from Cape Coral.

The prices have come down since 2006 quite a bit. I believe it is a good time to buy.

Ken

 

[mstaglia]

Thanks for the insight. I am aware of the bridge and lock issues. We love Key West also and are heading down for 2 weeks the end of Feb. How long a run is it from CC by boat?
Are there any areas in CC to avoid? We may not buy right on the water. How are the marina costs in the area? How about yacht clubs?
Mike
mstaglia@roadrunner.com

 

[glenncal1]

Mike-I just bought a boat from a guy in Cape Coral who is also selling his house there, two boat lifts, screened in pool, about 1500 sq ft. Very easy access to the river, just south of where the Colonial Bridge crosses the river. Shoot me a PM if you are interested and I will send you his name and number.

Jim

 

[Vince_nj1]

I have been thinking about purchasing a house down in that area as well. A few things to consider:

• I am told that Hurricane /Flood Insurance can be more than the real estate taxes.
• There was a news story a few months ago about houses built in Punta Gorda that used sheet rock from China. The sheet rock had something in the rock that was emmitting a sulphur smell and corroding pipes. The only solution was to gut the house.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/18/chinese.drywall/

 

[tdschafer]

Hey check out greaterftmyers.com. I am also heading down in feb/march for a short trip too see my friend and checkout properties with my brother. There are alot of short sales on that website if your not in a hurry. I am also looking for sailboat access waterfront lot. Another buddy turned me on to punta gorda isle up by charlotte harbor. Looks like there are some deals there too but be prepared to spend a little over 200k for a fixer upper.